Hi everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews. If you are a guest, I cannot respond to you but I want you to know that your opinions are just as valuable to me and I really appreciate it, so thank you.

There are some strange things that go on in this chapter and a little twist at the end so please don't hate me haha. I hope you all enjoy and that you're all staying safe.


Most people would assume that when you were going up to heaven, you'd feel warm. That wasn't the case here. I was cold, uncomfortable, and it was annoyingly loud. People were yelling in a panicked frenzy, and it felt like my body was being wheeled down a hallway. My eyes constantly opened and closed, seeing glimmers of what looked like ceiling lights. An oxygen mask was held against my nose and mouth.

There were urgent shouts, but it wasn't from anyone I recognized. "Get her into the OR. There's too much damage here. We need to open her up."

Open me up? Was I in a hospital?

There was a hand on mine as my body was transported, and I recognized the next person's voice to be Dimitri's. "You're going to be okay, Roza. Hang in there."

"Sir, I'm sorry but we can't let anyone in past this point. We're about to operate." I couldn't really see anything, but I assumed the woman speaking to him was a doctor.

"I can't leave her," Dimitri said, tightening his hold on my hand.

"We will do everything we can. I promise you she's in good hands. Our team will take care of her. I'll keep you updated every hour," she said calmly.

Dimitri let out a shaky breath, and I felt his lips kiss my forehead before his hand left mine. The doctors rushed me down the hallway, and then I was out again.


When I woke up, I was sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair. That was...odd. Weren't patients supposed to be in a bed? I even had clothes on too—a white blouse and light blue jeans. It was also something I probably wouldn't wear. I was leaning on someone, but I didn't recognize it to be Dimitri or anyone else I would be this close with. These were Christian's arms. On the other side of me was Adrian.

Wait. That couldn't be right.

My vision was clouded by tears, but I could still see my surroundings. I was in a hospital room, sitting beside a bed while staring down at...myself.

I realized in that moment that I was in Lissa's head. She must have flown into Washington with Christian and Adrian not too long ago. Lissa's emotions were strong which was probably what had sucked me into her head. I hadn't been in her head for a while and I was beginning to think she had blocked me off while I was gone.

Seeing myself in the hospital bed through her eyes made me cringe. Both of my arms had several syringes that were hooked up to a bunch of machines, and there was an endotracheal tube inserted through my mouth and down my throat to help me breathe. My skin was scarily pale, and my body was so still I would've thought I was dead if it weren't for the cardiac monitor beeping steadily.

The room door opened, causing Lissa to snap her head up. Dimitri walked in, sighing when he saw my body. The dark circles under his eyes along with his slightly disoriented state told me he hadn't been sleeping. There were cuts and bruises all over him including deep scratch marks all over his arms. He really needed to take care of those.

"Hey," Lissa greeted. She was worried about him too. It was unlike Dimitri to look like this.

"She's still not awake," he said, taking a seat beside my bed on the other side. He grabbed my hand, careful not to disturb all the needles and medical tape.

"This is normal," Lissa told him despite being just as worried. "The doctor said it could be a while. Her body is just trying to recover."

Dimitri sighed heavily, holding my hand against his mouth as he leaned his elbows on the mattress. "I know. It's just...this isn't normal. Her injuries aren't healing."

"I thought she couldn't heal against a stake," Christian murmured.

"I'm not talking about the stake. I'm talking about the rest of her injuries. Those should have been gone a long time ago. I don't understand why she's not healing."

"Maybe her body isn't strong enough," Adrian said reluctantly, reaching out to stroke my hair. "I tried to see her in her dreams, but I haven't been able to reach her at all."

Dimitri didn't respond and instead just kissed my fingers as a tear rolled down his cheek. It hurt me so much to see him so upset. I had never seen him cry before. It was a habit of his to always hold back his emotions, but that wasn't the case now.

The door opened again. I expected to see a doctor or nurse, but instead, I saw Nevaeh. She had some minor injuries too, but she was okay. Her complexion still looked so unhealthy though. She needed food and sleep. Maybe comfort too.

"What are you doing?" Dimitri asked her. "You should be with Eddie."

"I want to be with her," she said, choking back a sob. She walked over to my side and wrapped her fingers around my leg, shaking it slightly. "Mama?"

Obviously, I couldn't answer her. She shook me again. "Wake up. Please wake up. I...I want to talk to you again. I still want to grow up with you. Please wake up, mama..."

I'm here. I'm right here. You'll be okay. I wished I could say it out loud, but I couldn't. All I could do was watch her break down. Lissa's own tears started to rise.

"Is this—is this my fault?" Nevaeh asked. "Is she dying because of...because of me?"

Oh, baby, no. Please don't think that. None of this is because of you.

Dimitri was surprised by her question, but was quick to offer her comfort when he saw her tears. "No. No, of course not. Come here," he said gently, holding his arms out. Nevaeh ran into them, and he picked her up, cradling her in his lap. He held her small head against his chest, letting her cry silently.

"None of this is your fault, Nevaeh. None of it. Don't ever think like that, okay?"

Nevaeh was too upset to answer, so she simply nodded.

"And she's not dying. You see that machine over there with the funny lines? It monitors her heart. It beeps whenever her heart beats."

"Will she wake up?" she asked as Dimitri wiped some of her tears.

"Of course she will. Rose is a very strong woman. I promise you she'll be okay."

"O-okay," Nevaeh croaked. "I'm...I'm sorry." Her sobs began, and she buried her face into his chest again.

"No, no, don't say that," Dimitri said, rubbing the back of her shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

"I love her," she croaked.

"I know. I love her too." Dimitri held her in his arms, trying to calm her down as much as possible. Lissa squeezed Christian's hand as she watched the two try to find comfort in each other. When I saw those two together, I knew without a doubt that Dimitri really cared about her just as much as I did. He would protect her no matter what.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed," he said, pulling back. Nevaeh shook her head.

"No, I don't want to go to bed. I want to stay here," she whined.

"You need to sleep, Nevaeh. I'll bring you back here tomorrow, okay?"

"Promise?" she asked.

"Promise," Dimitri said. Nevaeh finally gave in, and Dimitri said his goodbyes to everyone else as he carried her out of the room.


The next time I woke up, I was back in my own body. The tube in my throat had been removed, but it had left the area feeling dry and uncomfortable. My limbs felt weak and heavy, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to open my eyes with the bright lights.

"At least she's breathing on her own now. She could wake up at any point, but her movements might be limited." That was the same female doctor I had heard earlier, back when I was taken down to the OR. She was talking to Dimitri, but I could sense other people in the room too.

"And what about the rest of the problems?" he asked. "It's been a week. Her injuries still aren't healing when they should have healed after we brought her in here. Her pulse is weak and her skin feels like ice. Not to mention her extremely pale skin."

I've been sleeping for a week? My breath must smell like death!

"Guardian Belikov, this could just be her body's way of responding to trauma. There is not enough research on her type of mix to know what's going on here. We just have to let her recover."

"There has to be something else! I'm not just going to stand here and watch her deteriorate. Something is wrong with her!" he said in desperation. He wasn't yelling, but his voice was raised enough to make everyone in the room go silent. Well, everyone except Adrian.

"Dimitri, when was the last time she fed?" he asked.

"I..." Dimitri paused. "Shit. It was before we left the academy."

"That was two weeks ago," I heard Lissa say. "That's why she's not healing. Her body isn't strong enough because she hasn't had blood in ages. She's supposed to feed everyday, if not almost everyday."

"This is only a guardian institution. The supply we have on blood bags is low. Even if we give it to her through an IV, it'll take a while for her to respond," the doctor informed them.

There was a long, dreadful silence in the room until I heard Dimitri came up with another idea. "What if I let her take my blood?"

"What? Guardian Belikov—"

"It's the only way we can help her. I know it sounds like a crazy idea, but unless you can come up with something better, I don't see any reason not to. She needs blood. It's just how her body is now."

"That might actually work," Adrian agreed.

The doctor sounded like she was as a loss. "I-I mean, I suppose we could make an exception...but I need another guardian in here. And you three should wait outside."

"Make sure she doesn't take too much," Adrian warned before leaving the room.

"Can we get Guardian Petrov and Eddie Castile in here?" the doctor asked. After a few moments, I heard the sound of water running from a tap along with some other footsteps coming into the room.

"Dimitri, are you sure about this?" Alberta asked him. The water stopped running.

"I'll do anything. I'm not letting my girl starve," he said. I felt the hospital bed dip as Dimitri sat beside me, wrapping his arm around me to prop me up a little without disturbing any of my injuries. My head leaned against his chest as he held me close and brought his wrist up to my mouth. I refused to open my mouth at first, trying to resist what my body craved so much. I didn't want to hurt him and it felt wrong to take blood from someone I loved so much. I couldn't do that to him.

"Roza, please just drink. Let me help you." Dimitri almost sounded desperate. He wasn't thinking about his reputation or his high rank as a guardian. He wasn't thinking about the 'taboo' of being fed on or the image society posed on dhampirs for doing such an act. He wasn't doing it for pleasure or for the sake of getting high. He genuinely wanted me to get better and restore my strength. It was like when I was letting Lissa take my blood when we were on the run. People had been calling me a blood whore for it when in reality I was just trying to help her with her body's needs.

"Come on. It's okay," Dimitri prompted. My eyes were still closed, but the smell of his blood was getting harder to resist. Even the sound of it rushing through his veins made my throat tighten. Soon enough, I couldn't hold back any longer, and sank my fangs into Dimitri's wrist. The blood started rushing through, and then my high began.

Dimitri's blood was...euphoric. It was sweet and pure, and in my strange ways, I could tell that he was a very healthy person. It gave my body the strength to heal, and it even offered me some pain relief. Dimitri and I relaxed against each other, becoming engulphed in a ray of sheer bliss. I felt like I was bonding with him emotionally. It made me grow some strange attachment that made me not want to let him go. Maybe being in love with him was what made it feel different and I wondered if he felt it too.

My eyes fluttered open and I tilted my head back, looking up into Dimitri's eyes as I drank. The endorphins were starting to hit him too as he returned my gaze, stroking my hair with his other hand. He smiled slightly, silently telling me he was okay and encouraging me to continue. My hands grabbed onto his wrist, holding it tightly. I closed my eyes, letting some tears fall as I was overcome with relief.

"Good girl, Roza...good girl," Dimitri whispered as he caressed my hair. I was happy to hear him call me his 'good girl' again. It made me feel so safe. I would do anything to have him call me that.

I could have stayed like that forever, but I knew I had to stop at some point. I couldn't risk taking too much and I didn't want to drain him, so I stopped drinking before pressing my tongue against the wounds to stop the excess bleeding. The healing properties in my saliva would help them close up as well.

Alberta came forward, noticing that I had finished. "I think we should take Dimitri to another room now, maybe let him cool off—"

"No," I interrupted. I couldn't shout or scream with my throat being so strained from the breathing tube earlier, so everything came out in strangled whispers. "Don't take him. Please."

Alberta and Eddie both looked skeptical and I instantly knew why. They probably thought I wouldn't be able to control myself despite the fact that I had just pulled away without anyone's help.

"I won't take anymore. I just want be with him right now," I told them. Alberta sighed, not quite liking the idea of us being alone when Dimitri was in a fragile state. I knew she was looking out for both of us, but luckily Dimitri changed her mind. He sounded a little dazed, but he was still in control of himself.

"Give us an hour," he said softly. "I'll be fine. I think it's best for both of us if I stay."

"Fine. But I'm staying right outside in case anything happens," Alberta said, giving us both a warning glare. They left the room and closed the door.

"Why did you do that?" I asked, constantly opening and closing my eyes as I was still high. The drugs that the doctors were giving me through the IV were making me tired as well.

"Because I care about you," he replied, yawning against my head. He was high too. "Why else?"

"I dunno." I was already getting sleepy again. "How am I even alive?"

"I'll explain it all to you later," Dimitri said. "Right now, I think we both need to rest."

"Okay...Dimitri?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you," I said, sounding a little slurred as I started to fall back asleep. "For being here..."

Dimitri's only response was to hug me a little closer and kiss the top of my head before he finally dozed off, allowing his body to recover from the endorphins.


I had no idea how long I was out for, but I felt a lot better upon waking up. I didn't feel like a corpse coming out of their grave. This time, it felt more like a really long nap. At least I had some energy back now.

"And she's up."

I blinked, taking a look at my surroundings. In the room was Adrian, Lissa, Christian, Eddie, and Dimitri. They looked happy to see me now that I was actually awake and alert.

"Hey guys," I whispered groggily.

"How do you feel?" Dimitri asked, watching me carefully. There was a bandage on his wrist, but he was looking a lot better and his energy was back.

"Happy to see you all," I answered, earning a warm smile from him. "But I'd be even happier if I could get out of this bed." The moment I started to sit up, all five of them were near my bed in seconds, pushing me back down against the mattress.

"I knew you would do that," Adrian muttered, pressing a button on the side of the bed so that it adjusted to let me sit up.

"You guys are crazy," I said, wincing as I shifted slightly. There was an annoying pain right in between my breasts every time I moved too much. I pulled the hospital gown back, looking inside to find an adhesive dressing bandage in the middle of my torso. I had an impulsive urge to touch it, but Dimitri pulled my hand back.

"Don't," he said. "It's to make sure you don't get infected. And so that your stiches don't fall out."

"Stitches?" I gasped. Christian laughed beside me, patting my shoulder.

"Welcome back, maniac. We've all missed you." Christian gave me a side hug before moving out of the way for Lissa who did her best not to squeeze me. It was a thing with us where we gave each other bear hugs when we didn't see each other for a while, but she remained careful.

"I missed you so much, Rose," she said, pulling back. "When they called me and said you might not make it out...I could've sworn my heart stopped. I had to come here. I wanted to heal you so much, but by the time I got here, the doctors were still operating on you. They wouldn't let me or anyone else in, even when you were in the ICU. After that, I wanted to heal you again, but...something else happened. I'll explain it later, but I can heal you now! Adrian and I can both—"

"Lissa, stop," I rasped, holding one of her hands to stop her rambling. "You don't have to heal me. I can fight this myself. Healing an injury like this will suck the life out of you. Both of you. Plus, if we're all honest, I think this is like the tenth time I've woken up in a hospital bed."

Lissa chuckled. "I'm just glad you're okay. I thought I might never get to hug you again."

Adrian grabbed our linked hands and pulled them apart, interrupting our little reunion. "You know, I was thinking the same thing. Come on, give me some love here."

Lissa rolled her eyes while I simply smiled and gave Adrian a heart-warming hug as he sat down on the space beside me. "Little dhampir...what would I do without you? I was ready to buy a whole new pack of cigarettes and whisky."

"That's how you would mourn me? Smoking and drinking yourself to death?"

"Exactly. That way, I could meet you in heaven and invade your dreams again. Or maybe we'd both end up in hell and piss off Satan."

"Sounds like something we'd do," I laughed. The movement caused some pain, so I stopped laughing immediately. Now that was something I wouldn't get used to.

"Careful," Adrian said. He was still hugging me and it was getting a little awkward now.

"Um...Adrian, you can release me now." I moved my hands to his front, pushing him just a little.

"Mm, nah. I think I'll enjoy my time with you in my arms a little longer."

"Adrian," Dimitri warned. Eddie was trying to stifle his laughter beside him. As soon as Dimitri moved to reach for him, Adrian finally let me go and threw his arms up.

"Okay, okay," he said. Dimitri relaxed until Adrian opened his mouth again. "Just one kiss on the cheek?"

"Adrian!"

"Oh, come on, just this one time. I'll buy you a nice duster. I'll even buy you one of those ushanka hats they wear in Russia to go along with it."

Dimitri pinched the bridge of his nose. "Please don't."

"So is that a yes?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No!"

"Pretty please?"

Dimitri huffed and gave up, muttering a swear word in Russian as he waved his hand in frustration. Adrian grabbed my face and pressed his lips to my cheek, smothering my skin with a loud kiss. "Finally."

I turned to Dimitri who was giving Adrian a death glare. "If it makes you feel better, I can wash my face with Clorox bleach."

My comment made everyone laugh while Dimitri shook his head.

"All jokes aside," Lissa said, "I have something for you. Well, Adrian and I kind of put it together, so it's actually from both of us." She reached down and pulled up a little pink bag with some tissue paper inside. She placed it in my lap. "Open it."

"Liss, please tell me this isn't expensive."

"I promise you it isn't. Just open it," she said. I eyed her skeptically before shifting my hand through the bag and finding a small box. I pulled it out and found myself holding a black box with a cursive logo in the middle. I recognized the brand and frowned slightly, looking up at her.

"You went back to the store?" I asked, recalling the memory of us shopping together the night I was kidnapped. It had been just days before her birthday and I remembered her looking closely at some jewelry in one of the stores.

"I did," she confirmed. I opened the box and found a gold-plated diamond bracelet inside. It was simple and the diamonds probably weren't real, but it was still beautiful and I appreciated it regardless.

"Lissa, this is beautiful. Thank you," I said honestly, picking up the bracelet and holding it carefully in my fingers.

"I would have bought you real diamonds, but I knew you wouldn't accept anything expensive," she said. "However, this is more to it."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, like I said before, Adrian and I put something together. After I bought the bracelet, we rushed down here when we heard the news. When you were in in the ICU, the two of us used our magic to charm the bracelet. Christian was doing research for a while on your mix, trying to find a cure, but there is none. But he discovered a way to help you cope with the symptoms."

I looked up at Christian, a little surprised that he had been the one to do so much research. "Is that what you do nowadays in the chapel attic? All for me? I think I'm impressed, pyro."

Christian scoffed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"Anyways," Lissa continued, "what I'm saying is that we can't reverse what's been done. Well...not without potentially killing you anyways. If a strigoi is staked in the heart by a spirit user, they could go back to their original form, but you're half human and none of us are willing to risk it. After some digging around, we figured the least we could do was ease your symptoms. It can't help everything, but your thirst will be much easier to control and your mood swings will calm down. It'll also help you with the spirit darkness you carry from our bond."

"You all did this for me?" I asked. I could feel tears start to build, but they weren't sad tears. I couldn't believe it. They went through all the trouble just to help me. I didn't care if we never found a cure. This was enough for me and I was beyond thankful for it.

"Of course. It's why Adrian and I couldn't heal you afterwards. We wanted to, but both of us had no energy left to use more magic."

"No, no that's okay. This is perfect. You guys really didn't have to do this. How can I repay you?"

"Rose, you don't have to do anything for us," Adrian said. "You've already sacrificed a lot for us in the past. Now it's our turn to do the same. It's the least we could do."

"But—"

"No buts," Lissa interrupted. "Rose, you protected me all by yourself for two years. You risked your life for me countless times, defended me, and helped me when I was going crazy. You've come so close to death just because you were trying to protect someone you cared about, and I have no doubt you'd do it again despite anyone who tries to stop you. You deserve this. And you better accept it, because if you don't, I'll make sure Dimitri and Eddie hold you down and force the bracelet on."

I couldn't help but laugh at the last part along with everyone else. Looking down at the charmed bracelet, I could feel myself getting emotional. "I love you guys. Thank you for this. Really."

"We love you too. Here." Lissa reached over to help me put on the bracelet, locking it into place. "There. Now we're matching."

"Matching?"

"Yeah. You see?" Lissa pulled her sleeve back, revealing the same bracelet but instead of gold, it was silver. It was the same bracelet I had gotten her on that night. Holy shit.

"Is that—" I started, but Lissa already answered my question.

"Yes, it is. Dimitri found it in the academy's vehicle from that night. It was still in the back seat. Consider them friendship bracelets."

Christian snorted, nudging her in the arm. "You're so cheesy."

"Oh, shut up," Lissa laughed, rolling her eyes at him.

"Aren't you going to tell her the other thing?" Adrian mentioned. She glared at him and there was suddenly an uncomfortable silence in the room. Even Dimitri and Eddie looked strange.

"What other thing?" I asked, looking around to see if anyone would answer me. Nervous glances were exchanged which only left me feeling more curious.

"You guys want to tell her?" Dimitri asked, looking pointedly at Adrian and Lissa.

"Hey, don't look at me," Adrian said defensively. "You're the one who volunteered for the position anyways."

"What position? Can someone please tell me what's going on here?" I demanded.

Eddie chuckled into his hand before leaning against the wall. "This should be good."

Oh no.

"Well...when you were gone, Queen Tatiana came to the academy," Lissa explained. "She wanted to have a word with us since we were close to you. And...well..."

"For god's sake, just tell her," Adrian said hastily. "We can explain it later. Just get it out."

"Fine," Dimitri said, sighing dreadfully. "Rose, I spoke to the queen this morning through video chat since she's back at the royal court now. She's decided you won't be guarding anyone. Not for a while at least. Instead, she wanted someone else to guard you. She wants to protect your new genetics."

"So that means what exactly?" I asked, completely dumbfounded. Tatiana wanted me to be protected of all people. That made no sense. That woman hated me.

Dimitri's next words shocked me. "It means I'm your guardian."


What did you think? Too weird? Like I said, there were definitely some emotional as well as abnormal things going on - such as Dimitri offering Rose his blood because her body needed energy, and then becoming her guardian. Please let me know what you thought of it. I really couldn't let go of the idea.